Don't wait to lose weight

Overweight and obesity together make up one of the leading preventable causes of death in the U.S. Obesity is a chronic disease that can seriously affect your health.

Overweight means that you have extra body weight, and obesity means having a high amount of extra body fat. Being overweight or obese raises your risk for health problems, including coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and certain types of cancer.

Public health experts agree that overweight and obesity have reached epidemic proportions in this country and around the world. More than a third of U.S. adults are obese. People ages 60 and older are more likely to be obese than younger adults, according to the most recent data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. And the problem also affects children. One out of five, or 17%, of U.S. children ages 6 to 19 are obese.

Obesity has a far-ranging negative effect on health. Each year in the U.S., obesity-related conditions cost more than $100 billion and cause premature deaths. The health effects linked with obesity include:

• High blood pressure. Excess weight requires more blood to circulate to the fat tissue and causes the blood vessels to become narrow (coronary artery disease). This makes the heart work harder, because it must pump more blood against more resistance from the blood vessels and can lead to a heart attack (myocardial infarction). More circulating blood and more resistance also means more pressure on the artery walls. Higher pressure on the artery walls increases the blood pressure. Excess weight also raises blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels and lowers HDL ("good") cholesterol levels, adding to the risk of heart disease.

• Heart disease. Atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, happens more often in obese people. Coronary artery disease is also more common in obese people because fatty deposits build up in arteries that supply the heart. Narrowed arteries and reduced blood flow to the heart can cause chest pain called angina or a heart attack. Blood clots can also form in narrowed arteries and travel to the brain, causing a stroke.

• Joint problems, including osteoarthritis. Obesity can affect the knees and hips because extra weight stresses the joints. Joint replacement surgery may not be a good choice for an obese person because the artificial joint has a higher risk of loosening and causing further damage.

• Sleep apnea and respiratory problems are also related to obesity. Sleep apnea causes people to stop breathing for brief periods during sleep. Sleep apnea interrupts sleep and causes sleepiness during the day. It also causes heavy snoring. Sleep apnea is also linked to high blood pressure. Breathing problems tied to obesity happen when added weight of the chest wall squeezes the lungs. This restricts breathing.

• Cancer. Being overweight or obese increases your risk for a variety of cancers, according to the American Cancer Society. Among obese women, the risk increases for cancer of the endometrium, or the lining of the uterus in younger women, and breast cancers in those who have gone through menopause. Men who are overweight have a higher risk for prostate cancer. Both men and women who are obese are at increased risk for colorectal cancer.

• Metabolic syndrome. The National Cholesterol Education Program says that metabolic syndrome is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Metabolic syndrome has several major parts: abdominal obesity, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance (severe type 2 diabetes).

• Psychosocial effects. People who are overweight or obese can have problems socially or psychologically. This is because the culture in the U.S. often values a body image that's overly thin. Overweight and obese people are often blamed for their condition. Other people may think of them as lazy or weak-willed. It is not uncommon for people who are overweight or obese to earn less than other people or to have fewer or no romantic relationships. Some people's disapproval and bias against of those who are overweight may progress to discrimination, and even torment. Depression is more common in people who are overweight and obese.

If you are more than 100 pounds overweight, bariatric surgery may be an appropriate option for weight loss when all other methods have failed. Barnabas Health's New Jersey Bariatric Metabolic Institute offers comprehensive and individualized solutions to weight loss throughout New Jersey — an approach that includes non-surgical and surgical options for weight loss, led by a multi-disciplinary team of bariatric surgeons, physicians, nurses, dietitians, exercise physiologists and psychologists who work with you throughout the whole process to improve your health. To learn more about weight loss surgery, visit http://goo.gl/Ap3EtG.